Developer has big plans for compact towns

Beijing Vantone Real Estate is pressing ahead with the construction of what it calls "compact towns" — low-cost and sustainable communities with high levels of employment and welfare provision.

"We plan to develop six or seven compact towns around three or four cities across the country," Vantone Chairman Feng Lun told China Daily on Tuesday in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

The towns will consist of tall buildings, which cuts costs by limiting the amount of land needed and boosts sustainability by reducing traffic jams and pollution, Feng said. They will provide homes for tens of thousands of people.

The company has launched an online platform that enables buyers to customize the design and decoration of their homes. The initiative is intended to speed up the development of the towns.

Feng said more than half the residents of the towns will have jobs close to their homes, reducing road congestion.

Public community funds will provide special benefits such as free commuter shuttle buses and health insurance.

Two projects are already under way, one in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, and the other in Xixian New Area, Shaanxi province.

The Xixian New Area town will have a planned core zone covering 1.57 square kilometers and a total construction area of 5 million square meters. Vantone is investing 30 billion yuan ($4.86 billion) in the project.

"Construction of the compact town in Xixian New Area started in July and will be completed within seven years," said Feng. "It will be a mini-city where 80,000 people will live."